Cyper Craft and Curious Seekers

 

Let's face it...we were all new once. We were curious, and maybe not so serious in our early days...or we were overly serious because we felt we had something to prove ( mostly to ourselves). We were newbies, dabbling in the unknown, and damn it was exciting as hell.


We had no earthly idea what we were doing and were afraid of doing anything and screwing up. Or, we plunged in head-long into an occult practice we knew nothing about, but were too arrogant and stupid to admit it.

Yeah, me, too. I didn't know everything then, and I sure as hell don't know it all now. I am still a seeker, still curious, but a lot more cautious because I am much more knowledgeable . We're all students in the Craft. Even the teachers.

At least the majority of us were civil. Sort of. Yeah, I'm old. I think we were much kinder to one another 'back in the day'. Common courtesy seems to be in short supply now. Scoring Brownie points for snark rudeness is in high demand.

I'm not saying the Good Old Days were better because they weren't. We were occult in the truest definition of the word. We kept silent about our practice because in some instances it was actually dangerous to be out of the broom closet. We didn't parade around in our ritual clothing and only a few dared to wear a pentagram or other symbol of the Craft in public. Our spirituality was hidden, and in some places it's prudent to keep our sacred symbols tucked inside the collar now. No, that's not fair, but it's certainly safer.

In America, Raymond Buckland brought Wicca to the edge of the light , but the Craft was still marginalized. There were some notable others, of course. We had individual camps called traditions, and from those practices covens were formed. Scott Cunningham-love him or hate him- can be credited with placing magickal practice into the blinding light of day. His version of Wicca was simple in it's presentation but complex in results. It was unabashedly nature based and very do-it-yourself, and an abhorrence to Euro-centric and Ceremonial Magick traditions. Self-initiation simply wasn't done then and was an affront to the old guard who followed the degree system that took years to achieve. I learned from Cunningham's books, but later joined a traditional coven. Today, as a solitary who occasionally yearns for the fellowship of group worship, I land somewhere in the middle of the road.

Enter the Internet. In the early days there were a few groups on Juno or AOL which were private difficult to find online. As the Internet grew and social media became the standard, enter the Cyber Witch. We were all over My Space and customized sites like Coven Space. Traditions tightened their organizational models  and created individual websites. In a few key strokes you could find a spell for anything. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Not at all. Especially where no in person teaching available, it's indispensable...but with discernment, because frankly, there are a lot of "teachers" out there who simply don't have the experience, or the  principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior. In the same vein, there are some simply marvelous unknown teachers out there.

My biggest beef with the Internet Craft is the level of nastiness I'm seeing. Personal attacks are openly and flippantly vitriolic. I don't know when smart mouth became a desired characteristic, but it seems to be the basics of certain popular Witches and Big Name Pagans' fan clubs, and it's growing. My opinion, for what its worth, is that it childish and immature, and unworthy of the image of someone publicly representing the Craft. We have enough public relations difficulties without the ego stroking of assholes. You shouldn't be dismissed because you're new to the Craft, or because you're older than dirt. There is something to be said for both. And we need all for the diversity of our chosen spiritual traditions.

And while I'm in crabby mode, I absolutely despise the term Fluffy Bunny. It's demeaning and pejorative because we were all in that spot once. It's unnecessary. Be better. Be more tolerant and helpful in cyberspace to curiosity seekers. Chances are those individuals left a mainstream religious tradition ( e.g., Christianity) because of similar treatment.How sad they came to the Craft and received the same thing.

I don't have a finger on the pulse of the future of the Craft. I just know what isn't working- for me or anyone else. We are capable of being better.